How do you pronounce the name of this year? Two thousand thirteen (or two thousand and thirteen), or twenty-thirteen? Or some other way?
The American “Two thousand thirteen” and the British/Commonwealth “Two thousand and thirteen” pronunciations are totally different kettles of fish and really should be seperate poll options IMHO…
I’ve pronounced the post-2000 dates both ways, depending on the context. In conversation, I prefer to say and hear “twenty-thirteen” (unless it’s actually twenty-eleven we’re talking about, of course).
In any kind of “technical” talk, such as planning or financial discussion, I usually say “two thousand eleven/twelve/thirteen” because it seems more precise.
I was always taught that putting “and” in the middle of a number string denoted a decimal mark. Saying “Two thousand and thirteen” would register to me as a price - $2000.13
At least now I know that’s not the case in some other countries. I already get a little twinge here when salespeople in the usa put the “and” in improper places, confusing the numbers they’re trying to convey.
I prefer “two thousand thirteen” myself. I really dislike the “noughts” thing though for the previous decade. I get it, doesn’t mean I have to like how it sounds.
Post-2009, I’ve got the twenty-x route, on the basis that twenty is quicker to say than two thousand!
This is the first year I feel comfortable saying “twenty ______.” “Twenty-oh-one” and “twenty-eleven” just feel too contrived. And “twenty-twelve” sounds like Baba Wawa.
I’ve heard some people say they were taught that way, and that just seems weird to me. I have never heard anyone say “two thousand and thirteen” to mean anything but “2013.” “$2000.13” would be “two thousand dollars and thirteen cents.” (And, yes, I’m American.) Is it really common anywhere to say numbers in this manner? Do you say “5.32” as “five and thirty two”?
I’m a two thousand thirteen sort of ranger. I think it’s because I think of twenty thirteen as being almost a quarter after eight in the evening (8:13 p.m.).
So I guess nobody uses the ‘‘and.’’
I usually say two thousand thirteen myself.
This is my story, too. Before 2010 it sounded clumsy to say, for instance, twenty-oh-eight.
If you promise not to rat on me, I’ll report that my wife has trouble acknowledging the 2000’s at all. This is 1913 to her!
And as long as I’m bitching I’ll say that anybody referring to 9/11 as “nine-one-one” sounds ignorant – or worse.
After 2001 (which I pronounced like the movie), I immediately switched to “twenty-oh-two” and have never looked back. It’s more efficient.
Sticking in an unnecessary “and” sounds vaguely British and old-timey to me. Like “four and twenty black birds.”
I’ve spent the last however many years, living in London, being indoctrinated with the mantra ‘London Twenty Twelve’ for the Olympics. I can’t possibly say it any other way now, totally brainwashed.
If you think that is really a rule, you are going to have problems communicating with a lot of the rest of the English speaking world. As Martini Enfield points out, British and Australian, and probably most other English speaking peoples (I don’t know about Canadians) never use forms like “two thousand thirteen” to refer to the number 2013, but always put in the “and”.
Also, like pulykamell, I cannot recall ever hearing someone, American or otherwise, use something of the form “two thousand and thirteen” to mean 2000.13, or, if they did, I most certainly misunderstood them. Although I am British born, I think my American English is pretty good.
Personally, as a British person, I would generally call the year “twenty thirteen” (unless I was deliberately trying to sound sententious), and the number, “two thousand and thirteen” (which I would write as “2,013”). However, I am aware that the standard, idiomatic American way to say the number is “two thousand thirteen”.
Well, Brits would, if it wasn’t for the Olympics brainwashing. I was ‘two thousand and one’ for years.
I’ve been saying “twenty-” since 2010, when saying the whole year. But even before that, in usages where for the old century we would have said just the last digits, I said “oh-.”
I use twenty-thirteen.
Anyone who had said one thousand nine hundred (and) thirteen would have been shot.
I hate that too.
I actually say two thousand and one as well.
Twenny thirteen. I went with “B”.
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Why would anyone (American or otherwise) think that the “proper” way to say the year is “two thousand [and] thirteen”? Surely nobody, unless deliberately trying to sound very pompous, ever called 1970 (for instance) “one thousand nine hundred [and] seventy”. The 21st century only differed, in any relevant respect, from most other centuries during its first nine years, when saying “twenty five” for (e.g.) 2005 would have been misleading, and “twenty oh-five” would have sounded odd (I think the y ending of “twenty” is the problem, because “nineteen oh-five” seems just fine). Now we are past that problem, it seems reasonable to revert to the normal, well established convention for pronouncing (post first millennium) year names.
Two thousand AND thirteen.